Forty Four

Forty Four
"BLOOD AND SNOW"

Eagan's POV

The Swiss mountain facility rises in front of us, its concrete face eerily mirrored in the granite mountains behind it. It snows thick and heavy, obscuring vision: ideal for our arrival. The target seems, to all appearances, like a research center, not the lair of monsters buying and selling human beings, which it actually is.

"Three minutes to guard change," Ren says, checking his watch. "You sure about this, King?"

I don't bother answering. There's nothing about this partnership that doesn't feel wrong, but with Astrid and my unborn baby's lives on the line, I'll make a pact with the devil himself if need be. I am not distracted in my goal; once the threat is gone, I’ll return to Love Island City and reassert my power.

"Alpha team, status," I order through my comm.

"East entrance ready," comes the crisp response. There is little in the way of thermal interface here. Six guards, two lab technicians.”

"Beta team?"

"West entrance secured. Ready on your mark."
I turn to Ren. "If this is a trap—"

“You will hunt me to the ends of the earth,” he concludes, smirking. "I know the script. But you have to remember, I want these bastards to go as much as you do.”

The disbelief persists, but I sweep it away. "Move in on my mark."

We make our way into the tree line and our boots crunch snow. This is not an impenetrable space but a facility with impressive security. Cameras, motion sensors, men with guns — nothing I hadn’t faced before.

“Shut down the power grid,”I order into my comm.

Thirty seconds later the lights in the entire compound flicker, then go out. Emergency generators click on, but we only need that short spell of darkness.

"Now."

We force open the entrance, and take out two guards before they can sound the alarm. The muffled shots sound quietly through the white corridor. Ren’s action is the kind of precision I’ve only seen in men who have spent their entire lives killing — and a reminder that despite our current alliance, he is still dangerous.

“Central command should be one level down,” he says, accessing the facility map on his tablet. “We do that, and we control everything.”

"And the research data?" I say this softly, my eyes searching the area for threats.

The lab whatnot A server room next to the labs. East wing."
I nod to my second team. "Secure it. I need all that — files, research, names. Where are these people to go? And if they have the other facilities, then I need to know where.

The team rounds a corner and vanishes into the hallway while Ren and I follow after the central command. Three more guards go down before we make it to the stairwell. I’ve always prided myself on the efficiency of my violence, but at this particular moment it feels not merely circumscribed, but worlds away. More purposeful.

"You're awfully silent," Ren comments as we go down. "Having second thoughts?"

“About murdering people who would prey on children?” I give him a cold look. "Never."

"Not about that. About what comes after." He hesitates at the bottom of the staircase. “We’re back to being enemies as soon as we’re done with this.”

“We never ceased to be enemies.”

A thin smile creeps across his face. "Fair enough."
The central command room is buried behind reinforced doors. Just as my men get going on bursting them open, I hear Liam over the earpiece.

"Sir, we are at the sugardaddy house. All clear. Astrid's secure."

Tears of relief course through me, but I remain expressionless. "Maintain position. Report any changes."
"Will do. She's asking about you."

I can feel Ren watching me, waiting to see how I react. Let her know I’ll call her when the operation is over.”

The doors to central command crash open, and we rush inside. The room is lined with monitors of various parts of the facility. Three technicians shoot up their hands right away.
"Where's the director?" “I want,” I cock my gun to the side of the nearest man’s temple.

"Top floor," he stutters. "Private quarters."
Ren monitors the security feeds. "I don't see any children. No nursery."

This sends a chill through my stomach. Something's wrong.
"Where is the study population?" I seize the researcher by his collar. “The children you’re supposed to be keeping here.”

Confusion crosses his face. "What children? This is a drug research facility for pharmaceuticals.”

I glance at Ren, who still has no change in his expression. “Database search,” I direct one of my men. “See what this place is really all about.”

I don’t say anything back to them and while they are working, I walk several feet away, speaking softly for the comm. "Liam, status check."

Silence.
"Liam, report."

Nothing but static.

“Our long-range communications are being jammed by something,” one of my men says.

The epiphany is like a bucket of ice water over my head. I look back to Ren, weapon in hand before me. "Where is she?"
His eyes do not smile. "By now? With any luck regretting not having picked me, instead of you.”

I pull the trigger without thinking and the bullet nicks his shoulder as he mouths open and lunges for cover. All sides are open and gunfire issues out and men in tactical gear pour into the room. Not facility security. Professional mercenaries.
"It was never THIS facility," Ren yells from behind a console. “It was about getting you out of there”

Two mercs go down in this red mist of rage that just covers my mental vision. "If anything happens to her—"

“Oh, I ain’t gonna kill her,” his voice reverberates. That baby she’s carrying is worth millions to the right people. And once they have it out of her, maybe I’ll have a go, myself. She is going to have to learn to love me sooner or later.”

I’m feeling a rage burn within me like I have never experienced. I have killed for power, for land, for honor—but never for this raw, primal urge to defend what is mine.

“Alpha Team, get your asses to the vehicles,” I order as I move toward the exit. “Beta team, provide us cover while we pull back.

"Running away, King?" Ren taunts. "That's not like you."
"I'm not running." I pause at the doorway. "I'm hunting."

We exchange fire in a furious dogfight as we spiral our way back up the staircase. Two of my men drop but I keep going. Astrid’s life is in danger and every second counts.

Once outside, I attempt using the satellite phone again. Still nothing.

"Sir, we are 10 minutes from the chopper," my pilot says.
"Not fast enough." I search across the parking lot of the compound and spy rows of snowmobiles. "We're taking those."

The pass is a deathtrap, with heavier snowfall now blocking the route. I rev the snowmobile, the headlights cutting the dark. The safe house is twenty miles to the north—an alpine lodge presumably secluded and untraceable.
All lies.

The satphone is finally able to establish a connection and we climb to higher ground. "Liam! Report!"

Static, then his voice, frail but alive. "Ambush... three men down... Blair..."

"Astrid?" My heart pounds in my chest.

"Took 'er... five minutes back... gone east..."

"Are you injured?"

"I'll live." His breathing is labored. “Sir, it was a set up from the beginning. Blair has been playing along with Ren this whole time.”

The pieces click into place. Of course. The Kairos Brotherhood and the Vasquez family — it wasn’t about competing cartels any longer. It was personal. Ren wanted Astrid, and Blair wanted payback.

“Follow her,” I say, revving the snowmobile. "Her watch has a GPS."

"Already trying. Signal Is weak but... got it. To advance via the east ridge road.

I turn, veering down a trail through the woods. The branches fly by as I thrash back and forth, the machine straining to keep up. The cold is gnawing at my bare skin, but I can barely feel it.

And suddenly, there is the ridge road — a narrow, curving line tracing the edge of the mountain. Headlights are seen in the distance, travelling through the snow.

"I see them." I advance, closing the distance even more.

The SUV hears me coming, picks up the pace. Amateur move on these roads. The car slithers on an icy turn, almost sliding off the edge.

I pull up, reaching for my gun. I glance through the open passenger door and see Astrid in the back seat, Blair next to her, holding a gun.

We exchange a brief glance as I shoot at the driver. The S.U.V. swerves violently and hits the guardrail. The gates bust open and, for a terrifying second, the truck edges towards the cliff.

I leave the snowmobile, sprinting to them. Everything moves in slow motion as I watch Blair scramble to get away, dragging Astrid with her. And the driver is dead, slumped over the wheel.

"Release her," I force the words past my lips, and I point the gun to Blair's head.

She laughs, hiding behind Astrid. "Or what? You gonna shoot through her to get to me?”

“You will not get off this mountain alive.”

"Maybe not." She holds her gun to Astrid’s temple. "But neither will she."

Astrid looks up at me, her eyes not scared but sure. I notice her hand makes a slow way to her watch.

“Don’t be foolish, Blair,” I tell him, stepping toward him. "You're out of options."

"I always have options." She begins to back away from the cliff. "Ren, he, he gave me a new identity, enough money to be gone. All I had to do was get her and the baby there.”

"And you believe him?" I maintain a measured tone of voice despite the heat I feel in my chest. “The same fucker who betrayed me will double-cross you the instant you’re no use no more.”

Doubt flickers in her eyes. That’s all the hesitation Astrid requires.

She kneels and jams her elbow into Blair’s ribs as she hits the panic button on her watch. The shrill alarm momentarily disorients Blair, allowing Astrid to shake herself loose, falling to the ground.

I don't hesitate. Two bullets, to the center mass, and Blair staggers back, surprise clearly registering on her face before she topples over the side of the cliff.

Astrid drags herself to me and I hasten to her side, pulling her into my arms, scanning her for injuries.

"Are you hurt?" My hands move to her stomach. "The baby?"
“We’re all right,” she whispers, shivering from cold and adrenaline. "How did you know?"

"I didn't." The admission stings like acid. "Not until it was almost too late.”

Two pairs of headlights are coming toward us. ..my men from one side...the mercenaries from the other.

"We need to move." I help her up and try to lead her to my deserted snowmobile.

"What about Ren?" clinging to me for support, she says.

"He's next." I put her on the machine and straddle it behind her, the curve of her body sheltered by my weight as I ride. “But first, we’re taking you to a safe place.”

“There is no safe,” she whispers. "Not while he's alive."

“Then he won’t be,” she says, and I will keep him occupied. For you." I rest my hand on her stomach. "For our family."

Gun shots follow us as we speed away. My men fighting with Ren's guys, to let us escape.

The word “family” resonates in my head — all wrong, but exactly right. In Love Island City, I’d formed an empire made of blood and terror. But the proud structures of those years had long since begun to tumble down and here in the Swiss mountains with Plejada pressed to me I feel that I am constructing something else altogether.

Something worth killing for. Worth living for.